Vince McMahon is notoriously a difficult person to deal with as the WWE Chairman and likes things to be done in a specific manner, and going against him doesn't tend to go well. Throughout history, plenty of people have gone against the WWE Chairman, putting their feet down on something that they want.
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However, most of the time Vince can get his own way as talent are rarely able to get one over on their boss. But, there are times when wrestlers have made their demands clear and stood up to the boss and they've come away with something positive.
10 Shawn Michaels
Whenever a wrestler gets a title, they instantly hold a little more power in what they do because WWE wants the champion to be featured on television. Normally when Vince McMahon says someone is dropping a title it happens, but that wasn't the case when he wanted Shawn Michaels to lose the WWE Championship.
He was supposed to be putting the title on Vader at SummerSlam 1996, but Michaels had other plans. He was known for using backstage politics at times and that was the case here, as Vince went along with HBK and kept him as champion.
9 The Shield
Sometimes there is strength in numbers, and that seemed to be the case in 2013 when The Shield stood up to their boss early on in their careers. The group were able to make an impact in WWE because of how dominant they were, going undefeated for so long and winning their major matches.
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However, at Elimination Chamber 2013 Vince McMahon wanted them to lose to John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus, but The Shield had other plans. They demanded that the result be changed and that is exactly what happened as the trio ended up winning.
8 Shane/Stephanie McMahon
Because they are the children of Vince McMahon, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that they were able to stand up to their father and get away with it. That is something that needed to happen due to the terrible storyline idea that the WWE Chairman was trying to create.
When Stephanie first got pregnant, Vince wanted to turn it into a storyline, and for some reason, he wanted to say that Shane was the father. The siblings immediately refused, and even though this was Vince's idea, it did not happen.
7 Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett standing up to Vince McMahon is one of the most controversial moments in WWE history as the Hall Of Famer blackmailed the WWE Chairman. He was the Intercontinental Champion at the time, and he was booked to drop the title against Chyna while his contract was coming up.
He demanded $200,000 from Vince on the day to go and do the business, and considering the fact Vince didn't want to see the title on WCW television, he paid him. It was a big call on Jarrett's behalf to go try that tactic, but it is something that ended up working out for him.
6 Rob Van Dam
Telling Vince McMahon, "no," is something that few wrestlers dare to do and, even fewer get away with. However, that was the case with RVD in 2005 when the company wanted him to be part of the annual Tribute To The Troops event, but the former ECW star had other ideas.
He didn't want to do any extra traveling and refused to be part of the event which Vince was furious about. But even though he tried to convince the former ECW star to be involved, that didn't end up happening and RVD got his way.
5 Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura is another star who had no problem going up against Vince McMahon and standing up for himself and what he believes in. He took the WWE Chairman to court as he learned about non-feature performers receiving royalties, and he wanted to prove himself.
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That is something that Ventura ended up winning, which is something that Vince was likely unhappy about. Ventura ended up earning $800,000 from this situation, which was a major victory against the biggest company in professional wrestling.
4 Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter got a huge opportunity in his career when he was given the chance to be part of the GI Joe franchise. He accepted the offer, but Vince McMahon refused to give him the chance because he had signed a deal with a different toy company and there was a conflict of interest.
However, Slaughter decided to back himself in this situation and opted to walk away from WWE to get one over on Vince as he got the huge opportunity with the GI Joe franchise and WWE lost out on a top talent.
3 The Undertaker
The Undertaker was a character that Vince McMahon protected heavily and he always looked after him. The WWE Chairman tried to make the Deadman look brilliant at all points, and that was clear to see throughout his career. However, at WrestleMania 27, Undertaker wanted to leave the show on a stretcher, even though he was winning.
This was being done to put over the brutality of Triple H's performance, but it wasn't something that Vince wanted to happen. He didn't want Undertaker to be taken out in this way, but it is something 'Taker felt was necessary.
2 Roman Reigns
When the initial reports of COVID-19 rolled around, there was a lot of uncertainty about health and safety, but the entire roster continued competing every week, especially for WrestleMania 36, with the exception of Roman Reigns who stood up for himself and decided he didn't want to risk being compromised.
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He refused to wrestle during the height of the pandemic, and instead Roman went on a hiatus from the business until things ended up calming down. Reigns got what he wanted with this one and enjoyed some time off, coming back better than ever in the summer of 2020.
1 Brock Lesnar
WWE had originally booked Brock Lesnar to face Jinder Mahal at Survivor Series 2017 as they were the two top World Champions at that time, but The Beast didn't like that idea. He used his creative power and told Vince McMahon to change it and the WWE Chairman did exactly that.
AJ Styles won the title which showcases just how much power Lesnar has behind the scenes due to the star power that he has built. Very few wrestlers would be able to get away with forcing a title change like that, but Brock wields that ability.
